3D Petrie Museum

Necklace counterweight

Called 'menat' by the ancient Egyptians, counterweights were positioned at the back of heavy necklaces to balance the weight and keep them in place.

On this example, the goddess wears a vulture headdress with a sun disk over an elaborate wig. If you zoom in one the ears, you can see they are pierced, she also has a choker around her neck and a broad collar over her chest.

If you zoom in on the lower part of the counterweight with the face pointed right, you can see the hieroglyphic signs for the goddess Hathor.

This example could have been attached by threading strings through the holes in the sun disk.